South Korea COVID-19 cases hit new record

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum has urged calm amid a massive increase in coronavirus cases as new daily infections in the country crossed 170,000 for the first time.

"Although our awareness and implementation of anti-COVID rules should not be loosened, there is no reason at all to fear or panic about the numbers of new cases as in the past," the prime minister said at a pandemic response meeting on Wednesday.

South Korea saw a record 171,452 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday compared to 99,573 infections the day before, data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency showed.

However, serious infections and deaths remain at manageable levels despite the record spike fueled by the omicron variant.

Meanwhile, the country has greenlighted the use of BioNTech-Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11, South Korea's Ministry for Food and Drug Safety said in a statement on Wednesday.

Children are advised to get one-third of the regular dose, twice with a three-week interval, the ministry said. 

Asia

Hong Kong will offer tax breaks, handouts and subsidies to small businesses and residents to cushion the economic blow from a flurry of new COVID-19 restrictions, Finance Secretary Paul Chan said in his 2022-23 budget address on Wednesday.

The region is witnessing its harshest social restrictions since the pandemic began and several restaurants, bars and small retailers have cautioned that they are months away from shutting down.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong's leader said the city will test all its 7.5 million people for COVID-19 as it combats its worst coronavirus outbreak.

The population will be tested three times in March, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced. "Since we have a population of some 7 million people, testing will take about seven days,'' she said.

In Singapore, daily infections were at a record high, with  26,032 cases reported on Tuesday. The Health Ministry said it may take a few weeks before the current wave peaks and comes under control.

"While the number of patients needing oxygen supplementation and intensive care unit (ICU) care is not high, there is a surge in demand for hospital beds, mostly for patients with underlying chronic illnesses to recover," the ministry said.

The UN's independent investigator on human rights in North Korea has called for the international community to provide 60 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the isolated authoritarian nation, which has recently showed signs of easing one of the world's most restrictive pandemic border closures.

Tomas Ojea Quintana said Wednesday the doses would be enough to inoculate North Korea's population of more than 25 million people at least twice. He said the shots would possibly encourage Pyongyang's leadership to open up more after the country's self-imposed lockdown of the past two years created challenges for outside monitors, aid groups and diplomats.

Europe

Italy will end its COVID-19 state of emergency on March 31, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday. Draghi said authorities would continue to monitor the situation but the goal "is to reopen fully, as soon as possible."

Switzerland, having secured more than enough vaccines to cover its own population of 8.7 million, will donate up to 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to other countries by the middle of this year, the government said on Wednesday. The country has also lifted almost all COVID restrictions.

Iceland will lift all COVID restrictions from Thursday night, the government said on Wednesday. Iceland, a country of 370, 000 people, recorded 2,885 cases in the last 24 hours on Wednesday. Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said the country was returning to "normal life" even if the virus was still "with us."

Slovakia will further ease COVID restrictions from Saturday, the government said. People would no longer have to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test once changes take effect, through restrictions on the number of people who can gather a time will remain. People also have to wear masks indoors and on public transport.

Germany on Wednesday reported 209,052 new cases of coronavirus and 299 more deaths, according to figures from the Robert Koch Institute. The national seven-day incidence rate decreased again from 1,306.8 to 1,278.9 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days.

Meanwhile, European Union member states on Tuesday advised a further relaxation of travel curbs for tourists traveling into the bloc and are either vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19.

The European Council has recommended that testing and quarantine mandates be lifted in EU nations for people who have been inoculated with vaccines authorized in the EU or approved by the WHO.

In the UK, London's Heathrow airport said it narrowed annual losses only slightly in 2021 despite the reopening of global air travel, blaming what it said were stricter passenger curbs in Britain compared to the neighboring EU.

Passenger numbers slumped 12.3% to 19.4 million. It was the lowest annual total since 1972 for the airport, which is one of the world's busiest hubs.

"Heathrow was the only European hub to see a reduction in traffic last year, due to tighter travel restrictions than EU countries," the airport said.

Poland has announced the removal of most COVID-19 restrictions starting March 1. The country will still keep mask requirement for enclosed public spaces, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.

Face masks will remain compulsory in public spaces including shops and transportation, but limits on the number of people visiting stores, restaurants and cultural venues will be removed.

Clubs and discotheques will be allowed to reopen, and employees of public institutions will cease to work remotely, the government said.

Global

The omicron variant is not more severe than the original strain, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

"We are not seeing a difference in severity of BA.1 compared to BA.2 (omicron)," Maria Van Kerkhove, a senior WHO official, said at an online question and answer session, adding that it was based on a sample of people from several countries.

"This is a similar level of severity as it relates to risk of hospitalization. And this is really important, because in many countries they've had a substantial amount of circulation, both of BA.1 and BA.2," she said.

rm, dvv/sms (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)